Miranda here (TrentPuppyFart on Facebook). Little info about me. My grandmother breed Angelfish when I was growing up and I can remember sitting and watching them for hours with her. Got into the hobby myself about 3 years ago with a 10 gallon starter tank. I have moved up to a 36 gal long freshwater planted tank with a mix of community fish in there. Love cories, gouramis and loaches but my favorites right now are cardinal tetras. Love the coloring in large schools. Also, I am intrigued by shrimp and want to learn more about them.

Keep trying different plants with various success rates. On my backup light right now as the ballast went out on my main light so they are struggling. Looking to invest in a better light after get the tax refund. Open to suggestions there. Was running a Coralife 96W compact florescent but it wasn't very happy under the canopy.

Anyway, nice to meet everyone. Hopefully will get a chance to see some of you in person. I have already been down to Skoolz once and am looking forward to another trip soon.

Miranda.... ...You'll find a number of members on here that are shrimp fans... And they usually offer darn good deals to other members. Lighting... Petco is having a sale on their ZooMed lamps and bulbs about 50% off which is hard to beat. A big school of cardinals is hard to beat as far as color and the impressive display of being in tune with the regiment of maintaining the school!Bill

Those who seek colors from salt water fish haven't seen a proper school of cardinals...haha....welcome to the forum. The invertebrate section has a decent amount of information about shrimp. I myself love shrimp and its a lot of fun breeding them. Their life cycle is a little different then I have seen. Enjoy the forum.

Welcome to the club. A little info about the Petco lights. They are switching to another brand so the old bulbs and fixtures are clearanced at 50% off. Act quickly, some stores have already sold off all the old fixtures and bulbs but I'm sure can find some if you look around. Tip, look for the additional 25% Off coupons located on the betta display tables near the entrances or ask an employee for one. I strongly suggest you grab one of the Zoomed dual T5 HO lights before they are gone. Perfect for just about any plant found locally. Be sure to stock up on bulbs also. You'll need to replace the bulbs yearly. I switch them out every nine months before I notice any decrease in plant growth. Look into Getting a CO2 system and additional fertilizers if you're serious about plants. We are planning to have a plant swap soon. Are you interested?